Come out, Come Clean
by DeepDeepOnDown
Summary: Sometimes, when you discover your feelings, you realize how long they've laid dormant. Sometimes you've known all along and have been praying that the other feels the same way. Rating for future chapters. (Tags: makoharu, maruka, jealous, club, dance)


Makoto watched his hands as they reached out slowly, aiming to grip Haru's hips. Suddenly the thumping of the bass and the jittering of the crowd in the club became silent. The only noise he could hear was his own heartbeat, suddenly so loud, making it painfully clear how erratic and distressed it was.

He wanted to control it, but more so his breathing, coming in and out of his nose in shallow puffs. No matter how he tried to control it, his breathing wouldn't calm.

His fingers were only a few inches away now and they twitched, as though eager to make the last move. Makoto's eyes were entranced on Haru's hips, his gaze unwavering as he mustered up the courage to make the final move. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, bracing himself, and when he opened his eyes, Haru was gone.

Makoto blinked rapidly, a bit disoriented at the sudden change that had seemed a constant for hours, though in reality had only been for a few seconds. Makoto exhaled his deep breath, feeling himself physically deflate. He had been ready to do it too, he really had.

"Mako-chan!" Makoto turned towards the familiar voice to find Nagisa bursting through the crowd, dragging a rather flustered Rei behind him. "Mako-chan, where's Haru, didn't you say you were going to go find him?"

Makoto bit his lip, but when Rei rose his eyebrow at him he attempted to mask it with a smile.

"Ah, I found him, but I lost him in the crowd, he went that way," Makoto pointed to where Haru had disappeared among the mass of dancers.

He wasn't going to tell him he had lost him because he had a momentary irrational desire to dance with his best friend, grip him by the hips and pull him close. To watch his face as he gazed upward and back at him, realizing it was his childhood friend. Would Haru be happy to find it was him? Confused? Or maybe he would have known it was him from his hands, and looked back at him expectantly. Maybe he would have asked "What are you doing?" or cutely questioned "Makoto?" and cocked his head to the side.

Or maybe he would have continued the little swaying dance he had been performing when Makoto had spotted him. He would just lean against him, letting his hips guide Makoto's. He'd reach his arms up, twirling his fingers in Makoto's hair. Would the hold be gentle? Firm? The stretch would hike his shirt up just the slightest bit, inviting Makoto's fingers to move up a centimeter to feel-

"Makoto-senpai!" Rei's voice broke Makoto's dreaming. Gazing down, Rei was looking at him like a specimen to observe, the questions forming in his head almost audible.

"Oh, Rei, sorry, it's hard to hear with the music this loud," Makoto tried to cover up his daydreaming. "Where did Nagisa go?" He questioned, looking around for him.

"He went to go find Haruka-senpai," Rei said, leaning forward so Makoto could hear him. He really could hear him just fine, but he's glad Rei seemed to believe his story.

"What were you thinking about?" Rei asked, bouncing a bit awkwardly to the music.

Ah, perhaps he didn't believe it after all. Makoto became aware he was the only stagnant being in the mesh of people dancing, so he mimicked Rei.

"Nothing really," Makoto looked away from Rei, unable to think of a very good excuse for his actions. Rei followed his gaze, nd then looked back at him curiously.

"Did Nagisa and I interrupt your attempt to dance with her?" Rei asked. Makoto snapped his gaze back to him and looked back over at where he had been gazing. A girl made eye contact with him, her head cocked to the side in curiosity, most likely because Makoto had been unwittingly gazing at her, and now Rei was too.

She eyed Makoto up and down and flashed him a smile. Makoto immediately smiled back, trying to twist it into an apologetic one, but she didn't seem to take it that way. She walked over, not breaking eye contact until she had both of Makoto's hands in hers and beckoned him away from Rei.

The girl stopped when she found a spot she deemed suitable for them on the dance floor and waited, gazing up at him expectantly. Makoto took this time to study her. Her hair was done up in a twist which showed off her slim neck and pretty collarbone. Her dress wasn't sultry and came down to hers knees, but she was obviously cute and Makoto was flattered she wanted to dance with him.

Then why wasn't she dancing?

'_Oh, right, I lead_,' Makoto thought, letting go of one of her hands and starting with a basic side to side step. His partner tilted her head back as if slightly insulted and mirrored the move, turning out to be a much sexier dancer than Makoto had presumed from her attire. Makoto extended a foot towards her, bringing it back and repeating with the other and she once again mirrored him, rolling her shoulders with the movement.

She sent him a sly smile and released his hand, putting her hands in the air and slowly gyrating her body downwards, swinging her hips from side to side. When she almost touched the floor, she rose, back up to him, her face a few inches away from his. Her eyes challenged him and she placed her hands on her hips. Makoto smiled, slowly bending his knees to drop in front of her too, snapping his chest forward and rolling his torso before rising back up to meet her, getting a bit closer to her.

They had attracted a small group of watchers and they sent some whistles and cheers their way as they continued. After a few turns of this their bodies were practically pressed together. His partner then turned her side to him and twisted downwards, rolling her body and as she rose, she pressed her rear against his leg, making his eyes widen as she slowly dragged it upwards, almost reaching his crotch before snapping her hip into his, causing him to stumble back a bit. An uproar of whistles and calls erupted at that, including a distinct "Mako-chan!"

Makoto turned his head towards the voice, finding an enthusiastic Nagisa spectating the little dance-off, flanked by Rei and Haru. Rei was looking at him bemusedly, but Haru looked a bit…

Angry?

Makoto opened his mouth to say something, but Haru's expression abruptly turned to one of shock, and then rapidly morphed into confusion and a bit of…

Fear?

"Haru-" Makoto started towards him, but his best friend backtracked into the crowd, disappearing. "Haru!" Makoto cried at the same time as Nagisa. He took a step towards him, but felt a hand on his, looking down to see his dance partner gazing up at him in confusion.

"Is everything OK?" She asked, the first time she had spoken to him all evening.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just-" Makoto stuttered and the crowd surrounding them started murmuring a bit, no doubt gossiping.

"Was that your boyfriend?" She asked, squinting her eyes slightly.

"N-No," Makoto somehow spoke while inhaling, the sound coming out panicked.

"Well, then, you're not just going to ditch me, are you?" She asked, placing his hand on her hip, inviting them to continue. Makoto gazed down at her apologetically, hating to leave a cute girl who had done nothing wrong on the middle of the dance floor, with an audience no less.

He gripped her other hand, leaned towards her and whispered, "I'm sorry," in her ear. Then, he twirled her into a spin, sending her towards Rei, who caught her, hands somehow landing on her hips with her hands on his shoulders. The crowd applauded and Makoto ran after Haru, gazing back at his friends, calling "I leave you in good hands!" and wincing at the murderous look in Nagisa's eyes. He'd pay for that later, but for now he had to find Haru.

Makoto pushed through the crowd, finally making his way to the edge of the dance floor and after finding no sign of Haru on the outskirts or in the bathroom dashed outside where it had just started raining.

"Haru!" Makoto called, gazing around for him, seeing no sign. His worry intensified and he barely gave the rain a second thought as he dashed into the dark.


End file.
